


Comforting Rogue

by The_Butterfly_Mistress



Category: X-Men Evolution
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Bullying, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Other, Paternal!Logan, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-05 23:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Butterfly_Mistress/pseuds/The_Butterfly_Mistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Rogue's distress cut through his heart. With unnatural ease, Logan's gloved hand slipped up to her head and began softly combing through Rogue's striped, auburn tresses."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Logan

It was by accident that Logan found a way to soothe the X-men’s gothic member. He “doted” on all the kids, in his own little ways. He gave them all nicknames, knew special ways to calm them or cheer them up, well most of them anyway. He wouldn’t deny that he gave special attention to Rogue, and he wouldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t his favorite. They had more in common with each other than they did with anyone else in the group, and she needed it more than the rest of them did too. Much like Logan, Rogue stayed withdrawn from the others, understandably so, seeing as her ‘gift’ could kill any one of them, even accidently. So yes, Logan saw fit to spend more time with her, make her understand that she was cared for, loved even.  
Logan spent time training the goth, talking to her, taking her places, doing anything that could make her face light up. She had her own special nickname, thanks to her two-toned hair. However, the only way Logan knew how to deal with her emotions, was to wear them out of her with a session in the danger room… That was, until the sullen teen was placed in the medbay from being ganged up on by a bunch of bullies from Bayville High. Xaiver had extracted the grueling details from the recesses of Rogue’s frenzied, unconscious mind, and they were truly heartbreaking, even for the gruff Canadian.  
Knowing full well that giving her attackers a dose of their own medicine would not undo the damage they had caused to his girl, did not lessen the Wolverine’s desire to hunt them all down to pay them back in kind. Still, like the protective father he was, Logan did not find comfort in just sitting by his daughter-figure’s bedside, waiting for her to awake so he could start helping her pick up the pieces of her life again. However, that was exactly what he was doing, furtively worrying more as time progressed.  
Logan did not hold the concept of time, as he waited, begrudgingly patient, for any signs of life from the self-induced, comatose being beside him. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting in that uncomfortable chair before his sensitive ears picked up on an almost imperceptible whimper. He momentarily thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, as Rogue had not even so much as flinched, but the sound came again. Slowly, the soft cries became louder and more insistent, as if the poor child was stuck in a nightmare. Of course, Logan knew that it was more than a simple, mind created dream of realized and unrealized fears, tormenting the goth. Time would heal the physical wounds, but the emotional and mental abuse would take work on everyone’s part.   
Rogue’s distress cut through his heart. With unnatural ease, Logan’s gloved hand slipped up to her head and began softly combing through Rogue’s striped, auburn tresses. Gently kneading the scalp and petting the errant strands of hair down. After the initial flinch from the sudden, unknown contact, Rogue seemed to nuzzle against the sensation. Encouraged by the reaction, he continued his administrations a bit more firmly; content with offering what little comfort he could give to chase away the impending nightmare of reality.  
 


	2. Kurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The furry elf cautiously wrapped his arm around his sibling's covered shoulder, the touch caused the southerner to pause in her struggle, but renewed with vigor as her brother tugged her close to his side. His other hand came up to hold her head steady against his chest, to halt further harm should her fight become more difficult to manage."

Unconscious, in the med bay Med bay, is the only time the aloof Goth would even allow the initiation of physical comfort. Which, with being unconscious, it wasn't like her conscious mind could protest. Even though it was quite clear that the teenager desired, needed, and deserved to be comforted, it was one of the many things the southerner absolutely detested to admit and refused to accept.

Kurt sighed as he sat down beside his adopted sister, he hated seeing her in such a state as much as Rogue hated being sick or injured. He was hesitant to touch her, fearful of disturbing her rare peace of mind, so he simply kept vigilance by her bedside in hope that she would soon awaken.

They say that "hindsight is twenty-twenty," Kurt couldn't think of truer words. He may not be the most observant person in the world, but he was her brother, for goodness sake! He should have noticed when the symptoms started showing, he should have seen her health starting to degrade, much sooner than before she started to steadily, yet quickly, decline. He didn't need to see medical files, or interact with Rogue, or even really know his sister, to know she came from a troubled past. He could see it in her eyes, distant, the way she held herself, guarded, or the way her countenance fell No comma needed when she thought no one was watching. Most would say it was because of her powers, or all the memories from everyone else; their pasts haunted her, not her own, she probably couldn't remember her own background past Mystique, but he knew that wasn't true. Even if she did state as much.

Despite what Rogue said or the way she acted around everyone else about Kurt, she loved the furry elf to pieces, and could often be found talking to him, about past, present and future. She would never go into detail, but once in a while, he'd catch her slip up: "I was never good enough for them." and "Words don't hurt so much, it was always sensations that caused the most pain." or bolting from nightmares, "No! Please, I'll be good." and "Daddy, please let me out!" He knew the past, her past, still haunted her very much, more than likely every day.

Therefore, he should have been one of the first to notice she had stopped taking meals, maintained minimal social contact that she could get away with, without raising suspicion, and was ultimately off her game. He shouldn't have fallen into the trap of "It's just Rogue being Rogue," he knew differently. Rogue paid the biggest price for their lack of observation and care. Not to say that they were solely to blame, Rogue did it to herself; she was equally at fault. The more the Goth neglected herself, the more she withdrew from them all; the more she withdrew from them, the more she neglected herself. It was a vicious cycle. After some time, Rogue had caught a simple flu virus, which was not uncommon in the winter months with everyone being cooped up together in one house; everyone would go through it at some point during the season. However, due to the state of her health, it turned into something much worse, leaving her quite ill in the med bay Med bay's two words at the end of the day.

Which comes back to the here and now, Kurt keeping watch over his sister as her body rests and recovers. Still, even a healing sleep is not without its cons, it is still a state of unconsciousness that her horrors can reach her within. Kurt was startled out of his reverie by the sleeping patient's jostling. She was twisting and turning, as if the sheets are the unseen enemy she had to escape from, unfortunately only furthering her entrapment and distress.

Careful to not awaken the girl, Kurt gently sat upon the side of the white hospital bed, turning to sit forward. The furry elf cautiously wrapped his arm around his sibling's covered shoulder, the touch caused the southerner to pause in her struggle, but renewed with vigor as her brother tugged her close to his side. His other hand came up to hold her head steady against his chest, to halt further harm should her fight become more difficult to manage. Tips of his fur danced lightly across her cheek as he brushed his thumb up and down. For a moment, as all fell still, the demon like mutant thought all was well, until his yellow orbs glanced down to see silent tears sliding down pale cheeks. Subconsciously, Kurt drew her nearer and began to rock side to side, a soft melody emanating from his lips. As time passed on, Rogue's breathing evened out and her body melted into Kurt's; snuggling as close as she could into the warmth, her arm gracefully slipped around him, ensuring his ministrations would not cease.

For now, Kurt would sit and rock his sister, fighting off the demons that plagued her. When she awakes, they would be having a long talk about her permitting him, and everyone else, to help fight them off during the day. She would not be allowed to end up this way again, not so long as he was there to prevent it.


	3. Road to Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had many ask for this last chapter, so I finally sat down and wrote it. This story was intended to be a two-shot, but everyone wants closure. I'm not certain that I've provided that, but hopefully you like this last chapter. Let me know what you think.
> 
> All mistakes are mine.

"Freak!" came the cruel calls from every angle.

They had her cornered in a dank alley, not far from the school. She had been aware of their presence following her, cutting off her paths. She hadn't realized they were guiding her into their hands without escape. She had fallen right into their hands.

Throwing flak at mutants had been catching. They world already held the major opinion of hatred, but not everyone was brave enough to spout off a liberal amount of trash. However, the more often the bullying was seen, the bigger the bully or group of harassers, the more courage was gained to speak up... to do something. The protesters grew daily.

Rogue was in the center, as the crowd surrounded her, swallowed her frightened form. It started with words, mocking, taunting. Spitting and long ranged attacks followed. They weren't stupid, she was dismayed to realize. They were well aware of who and what they were dealing with. Terrorizing the young mutant stopped being enough not long after it began. The more brave, the big guns of the group, soon stepped in for their turn.

Covered from head to toe, five broad, well built guys broke through the crowd and began their assault. Fists, feet, knees, and elbows connected with every inch they could reach. One of the men knelt by her head and roughly pulled her up by her hair. He laughed at her grunt of pain. His breath danced across her face and filled her nostrils. She struggled not to gag at the halitosis.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Freak," he snarled.

Rogue grit her teeth and threw her whole body towards her assailant and thrust her forehead forward dead center, straight on the nose. The crack of bone was more than satisfying. The smirk was short lived when another thug struck out with his foot. The force of the kick slammed her lithe form back to the unforgiving concrete, cracking a rib with the impact. To add insult to injury, the second man dug the heel of his boot deep on her chest, igniting a fire within that had her writhing in agony. She screamed until her breath ran out, and then began to beg for mercy, unabashed.

They all jeered at her pain, taunted her please and cries. Her tears were mocked and she prayed to pass out or die. The Goth was quite sure she probably was not going to make it out of this mess, at least not alive. Why hadn't she just rode with Scott and Jean? Why hadn't she at least walked with Kitty and Kurt? She could have even tried to have taken off her gloves and scared them a bit to leaver her alone, but no... She just had to end up in this situation; had let them get off the beaten path, alone, and unable to fight back properly.

Once subdued, Rogue was manhandled onto her side, arms wrenched behind her back. They tied her wrists and feet together behind her. It was uncomfortable and left her extremely vulnerable. Her torso in the clear, many kicks landed directly on her chest a few on her abdomen and crotch, winding her. A particularly bad blow landed to on her left temple, dazed her, stars sparkled before her emeralds.

Without being able to catch her breath and the dizziness overwhelming her brain, and with blurred vision and rolling nausea, Rogue blacked out. The damage to her body wasn't completely consistent with what she recalled, so Rogue assumed, rightly so, that after she lost consciousness they had continued the beating.

When she had later awaken, a day or so later, Logan had been by her bedside. She cringed from his touch, but he didn't waiver. He stayed by her side 'til she fell back to sleep. She had been stuck in the medbay for at least two weeks. Logan had allowed her to take some of his healing power, but it could help so much.

Six weeks in to her recovery, the professor and the Institution staff, reluctantly, allowed her back to school. She spent the majority of time avoiding her friends and the bullies who hadn't been expelled. The X-men had, with Wolverine's expressed permission and encouragement, to scare those boys. It had sorta worked. All the same, the goth wanted to be left alone and just forget the incident ever occurred.

The stress and dear wore her down though. It wasn't long before she was back in the medbay again. She didn't remember much before that time, but apparently she had been sick. Kurt was with her when eyes fluttered open. He didn't budge when she shied away from him, in fact, he continued to hold her and soothed his sister until she entered dreamland once again.

After she had been released once more, she was hardly left to her own devices. She was allowed quiet time, privacy for showers and changing clothes, but someone was always in the vicinity. She was being driven crazy! Space was important to her, vital to her sanity.

A month and a half after her latest medbay stay, she had had enough. At dinner that night, squeezed in between Logan and Kitty, both too close for comfort, she blew up. They all stared at her in shock and she gazed back firmly. Then it hit her, what was going on, and she turned on her heels and ran.

As expected, though later than she thought, she was soon no longer on her own. Kurt found her seated on the roof, star gazing and shivering. He handed her a throw blanket he had brough with him and settled to her left. They say in silence for awhile, both gathering their thoughts.

"I'm sorry if you felt suffocated, my sister," he said. "It was not our intent."

"Ya'll are worried, I get that." She cut him off before he could respond, "But I need space, Kurt. All this hovering is driving me nuts!"

"I know. Perhaps we could try to be a bit more discreet... but we need to cut us a little slack too. It wasn't that long ago that you were on a deathbed. Twice Rogue!"

With a heavy sigh, she nodded, "You're right, of course. I know."

Kurt wrapped his sister in a half hug, kissing the top of her head. "Lets compromise then. We'll hover a little less, if you stop being so distant and start letting us help you a bit."

"Deal! Not like I have much choice, do I?"

"Nein," he grinned. "Come on," he tugged at her. "Lets get inside and to bed. School comes way too early!"

Rogue smiled back and allowed her brother to pull her up. "Ok."

Kurt tucked her in and went to bed himself. While everyone slept, Logan did his rounds for security. Before he fell into his own mattress, the burly man entered Rogue's room. He caressed her locks lovingly, and exited as quiet as he had come. He would watch over her better from now on. Even if it meant monitoring a school full of rugrats. She needn't know. Maybe he could pry some feelings out of her mouth over a father-daughter like luncheon. He had to be ready to protect her from herself too after all. As he closed the door behind him, he missed the soft smile to grace her lips. Rogue slept without nightmares for the first time in months. Thinks would be okay; They just would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
